Just when everyone was ready to move on and find a new empowering female artist, SZA broke her silence on the stage of SNL. Announcing her new album SOS, which released on Dec. 9, she created an uproar for her fanbase and in fact, all women.
SZA released her debut album, “Z,” in 2014. Still being an underground artist, she had yet to reach her full potential within fame. With Chance the Rapper and Kendrick Lamar featuring on her 2014 songs, ‘Child’s Play,’ and ‘Babylon,’ she gained a bit of an audience and finally had a fanbase to share her music with.
Her next release was in 2017, and this was an eye opener for everyone. The album “Ctrl” featured some of the biggest artists of our generation. She began to gain more opportunities with interviews and performances left and right. Since then, SZA’s music has been featured on the ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Soundtrack, along with ‘Black Panther’.
After releases with The Weeknd, DJ Khalid, Calvin Harris, Pharell Williams and Doja Cat, SZA earned her place at the top of the R&B and pop industries.
The anticipation for her new album grew stronger with each passing albumless year. Her music has been featured in major movies, and her sounds constantly trending on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Due to SZA’s lasting silence within the industry, fans thought her musical career may be coming to an end. That all changed on the stage of SNL on Dec.4th. With the screen behind her displaying ‘SOS 12/9,’ the audience went wild and so did the rest of the country. SZA finally returned.
This new album of SZA’s is destined to go far. With this album, SZA explores many genres including rock, R&B, pop, folk, indie-rock and electronica, all very present throughout the 23 tracks. She features artists such as Phoebe Bridgers and Travis Scott through the story she tells. There are perfect tracks for feeling heartbroken, empowered, lost and confident that allow her fans to find comfort in her music.
SZA constantly shares her own experiences and emotions through her music, making them so much more real and honest. This connection SZA is able to share with her fans makes her music all the more special. Of all of SZA’s releases, “SOS” perfectly captures every aspect of love, making it incredibly feminine. And the teen girls are eating it up.
Quinn Russel has been a supporter of SZA since her 2017 release, and anticipated this album like other fans. “When I heard that she was coming out with another album, I knew I’d have to prepare. SZA doesn’t mess around with her music, I knew I was about to find plenty of new anthems to jam out to in the car with her release,” she said. “My two favorite songs on the album would be ‘Smoking on my Ex Pack’ and ‘Shirt.’ They share the common theme of a petty heartbreak. They’re all about embracing femininity and empowerment, and just forgetting about everyone who’s done you wrong, which I live by.” Russel shared.
“SOS” is bringing out new sides of her listeners for the better.
SOS allows SZA’s fans to feel validated and understood. When heartbroken, the perfect song would be “Nobody Gets M.”. When feeling confident, “Kill Bill,” and in love, “Love Language”.
Music is the perfect way to express emotion and discover the way one is feeling, and Olivia Rogers agrees, “The music I’m listening to will always reflect my mood. After a bad day, I listen to sad songs, and after a good day, I’ll play upbeat songs. Yet, I have never found an artist who can make me feel a certain way through music until I found SZA. On SOS, she used the most perfect lyrics and melodies that actually made me feel for her. I think that’s a really beautiful thing, but also really difficult for most songwriters today,” Rogers claimed. That connection between an artist and listener is crucial, and SZA executed it perfectly.”
There is no mistaking that SZA has an immense amount of talent. With each release, she gains more fame and fans, rightfully. The SOS album allows SZA’s musical and lyrical genius to shine through, and her listeners could not be happier to finally hear from the amazing artist. It was a long five years without SZA, but the wait was worth it.
